The present invention relates generally to the field of electronic communications, and more particularly to processing attachments in electronic communications.
As computer networks develop into a means of structuring, sharing and transferring information, information systems such as electronic mail (email) have facilitated communication and information management for information sharing and transfer. Users on a computer network have traditionally used email to communicate private messages with each other. However, email has evolved rapidly into a new standard communication medium, moving beyond the memo framework to becoming a universal tool for conducting business. Sending any type of data attached as a file to an email is a growing practice, not only for dissemination of information, but also as a means of real world collaboration. Email attachments have become a vital component of an organization's workflow.
Typically, organizations use a network of computers, with some computers operating as email servers to receive, transmit, route and archive email. Users of such a network typically have client versions of the email software installed locally for creating, sending, receiving and organizing emails. The size of email attachments used for collaboration varies considerably depending on the application but the trend is moving towards the use of larger files, especially for rich media applications involving audio and video.
Consequently, the volume of data passing through email systems has increased beyond the capabilities of the existing infrastructure of many networks, resulting in strained bandwidth networks, unmanageable growth in distributed storage requirements and an adverse impact on other critical communications.
Prior art approaches to this problem include: compressing attachments—users can compress attachment files into a single file; bundling attachments—users can bundle project specific files, for example, .java, .jsp, or .html, in a single file such as a Web Application Archive (“WAR”) or an Enterprise Archive (“EAR”); and multi-TAB attachment—when sending project-specific data for different modules, users can segregate data by organizing the data in different TABS in, for example, a spreadsheet document.